TL;DR: Subsplash is the premium choice for churches that want best-in-class custom apps, polished media tools, and AI-powered content creation through Pulpit AI. Tithe.ly is the value play, bundling giving, church management, a branded app, a website builder, and worship tools for $119/month. Both are strong online giving platforms for US churches. Subsplash wins on app quality and media. Tithe.ly wins on transparent pricing and bundled features. Neither supports WhatsApp, mobile money, or multi-currency giving, so churches outside North America will need to look elsewhere.
Two All-in-One Platforms, Two Different Philosophies
Subsplash and Tithe.ly are two of the biggest names in church technology. Both started with a specific focus, apps for Subsplash and giving for Tithe.ly, and have since expanded into full church engagement platforms. In July 2025, Subsplash was acquired by Roper Technologies for approximately $800 million.
But they approach the market very differently. Subsplash is a premium, quote-based platform that leads with app quality and media. Tithe.ly is a transparent, bundle-everything platform that leads with affordability.
This comparison breaks down every major category so you can decide which one fits your church. For individual deep dives, see our full Subsplash review and Tithe.ly review.
Quick Comparison at a Glance
| Category | Subsplash | Tithe.ly (All-Access) |
|---|---|---|
| Founded | 2005 | 2014 |
| Pricing model | Quote-based, custom | Published, transparent tiers |
| Estimated monthly cost | $199-500+/month | $119/month |
| Free tier | Giving only ($0/month) | Giving only ($0/month) |
| Transparent pricing | No | Yes |
| Best at | Custom apps, media, AI content | Bundled value, ease of setup |
| Custom church app | Best in class | Good (included in All-Access) |
| Church website | Weak (SnapPages) | Decent (included in All-Access) |
| Online giving | Strong (GrowCurve rates) | Strong (free tier available) |
| Church management (ChMS) | Basic to mid | Solid (formerly Breeze) |
| Worship planning | No | Basic (included) |
| Live streaming | Excellent | Good |
| Media hosting | Best in class | Basic |
| AI tools (Pulpit AI) | Yes, strong | No |
| Check-ins | Yes | Good |
| Groups/messaging | In-app messaging | Email, SMS, push, in-app |
| Integrations | Moderate | Moderate (Zapier, Mailchimp) |
| Multi-campus | Good | Basic |
| No | No | |
| Mobile money (M-Pesa) | No | No |
| Multi-currency giving | No | No |
| Best for | Media-heavy US churches | Budget-conscious US churches of any size |
Pricing: Transparency vs. Custom Quotes
This is the first and often the biggest difference between Subsplash and Tithe.ly. One publishes its pricing. The other makes you book a sales call.
Tithe.ly Pricing
Tithe.ly publishes every plan on their website. No surprises.
| Plan | Monthly Cost | What’s Included |
|---|---|---|
| Free Giving | $0/month | Online giving, mobile app, recurring giving, pledge campaigns |
| Church Management + Giving | $72/month | Free Giving + member database, volunteer coordination, email/text messaging |
| All-Access | $119/month | Everything above + custom church app, church website, worship team tools |
| Custom Church App (standalone) | $89/month | Branded mobile app |
| Church Website (standalone) | $19/month | Drag-and-drop website builder |
The All-Access plan is where the value hits. If you bought every product separately, you’d spend over $200/month. $119/month for giving, ChMS, an app, a website, and worship tools is one of the best bundles in church tech.
Subsplash Pricing
Subsplash does not publish pricing for most products. You need to request a custom quote based on your church size and the features you want.
| Product | Pricing |
|---|---|
| Subsplash Giving | $0/month (no monthly fee) |
| App packages | Starting around $99/month + $499 one-time setup fee |
| Subsplash One (full suite) | Custom quote (varies by church size) |
| Enterprise | Custom quote |
Community reports and user reviews suggest that the full Subsplash One suite can run $200-500+/month depending on your church size and which features you select. That’s a significant jump from Tithe.ly’s flat $119.
The pricing gap matters. If you’re a 200-member church presenting software options to your board, Tithe.ly gives you a number you can put on a spreadsheet today. Subsplash requires a sales call, a demo, and a waiting period before you even know if it fits your budget.
Transaction Fees Compared
| Payment Method | Subsplash (Standard) | Subsplash (Exclusive) | Tithe.ly |
|---|---|---|---|
| Credit/Debit Card | 2.9% + $0.30 | 2.3% + $0.30 | 2.9% + $0.30 |
| ACH (Bank Transfer) | 1.0% + $0.00 | 1.0% + $0.00 | 1.0% + $0.30 |
| American Express | 2.9% + $0.30 | 2.3% + $0.30 | 3.5% + $0.30 |
Subsplash has a slight edge on transaction fees, especially for churches that qualify for their GrowCurve tiered rates. High-volume churches can see card rates drop to as low as 1.9% and ACH rates to 0.5%. Tithe.ly’s rates are fixed, but the “Cover the Fees” feature (where donors absorb the processing cost) can offset this. About 60% of donors opt in, according to Tithe.ly.
Winner: Tithe.ly on pricing transparency. Subsplash on potential fee savings for high-volume churches.
Giving: Both Are Strong, Different Strengths
Both platforms started with giving at their core. Both do it well. The differences are in the details.
| Feature | Subsplash | Tithe.ly |
|---|---|---|
| Credit/debit cards | Yes | Yes |
| ACH bank transfers | Yes | Yes |
| Recurring giving | Yes | Yes |
| Text-to-give | Yes | Yes |
| Mobile giving app | Yes | Yes |
| Giving kiosk | Yes | Yes |
| In-person card reader | Yes | Yes |
| Pledge tracking | Yes | Yes |
| Fund management | Yes | Yes |
| Giving statements | Yes | Yes |
| Cover the fees | Yes | Yes |
| Donor analytics | Basic | Basic |
| Tiered fee reduction | Yes (GrowCurve) | No |
| Free giving plan | Yes ($0/month) | Yes ($0/month) |
Both platforms let churches start accepting online donations for free with no monthly fee, only transaction costs. Both support credit cards, ACH, recurring gifts, and text-to-give. This is nearly a dead heat on features.
Where Subsplash edges ahead: GrowCurve’s tiered fee reductions can save larger churches real money over time. If your church processes $50,000+ monthly in online giving, the lower rates add up.
Where Tithe.ly edges ahead: The free giving plan includes more features out of the box, including the mobile app, recurring giving, and pledge campaigns. It’s a true zero-cost entry point that lets you test digital giving before committing to anything.
Winner: Tie for most churches. Subsplash for high-volume giving. Tithe.ly for the lowest-barrier entry.
Church Apps: Subsplash Has a Clear Edge
This is Subsplash’s core strength and the biggest reason churches choose them over any competitor.
Subsplash Apps
Subsplash builds truly custom, branded church apps published under your church’s name in the Apple App Store and Google Play. These aren’t white-label templates. They’re polished, professional apps that look like they were built from scratch.
Features include:
- In-app live streaming with adaptive bitrate
- On-demand sermon and media libraries
- Push notifications with targeting
- Personalized content recommendations
- Mobile giving (integrated with Subsplash Giving)
- Bible reading plans
- Group messaging and prayer walls
- Event listings and registration
- Roku, Apple TV, and Fire TV apps for larger churches
The app experience is noticeably a step above what you get from Tithe.ly, Church Center (Planning Center), or any other church platform we’ve tested. For churches that want their mobile presence to feel premium, Subsplash is the clear leader.
Tithe.ly Apps
Tithe.ly’s custom church app is included in the All-Access plan ($119/month) or available standalone for $89/month. You get a branded app in both app stores with your church’s name, logo, and colors.
The Automatic App Builder is a nice feature. You enter your website and logo, pick a layout, and Tithe.ly generates your app. No developer needed. Features include:
- In-app mobile giving
- Sermon audio and video
- Live stream access
- Interactive sermon notes
- Prayer wall
- Group chat and small group management
- Push notifications
- Event listings and registration
Tithe.ly’s app is functional and looks professional. For most churches, it covers what members need. But the design quality, customization options, and media experience don’t match Subsplash’s level of polish.
Edge: Subsplash. Their apps are consistently rated among the strongest in the church tech space. If a premium mobile experience is your top priority, this category alone could decide your choice.
Church Management (ChMS): Tithe.ly’s Advantage
Neither Subsplash nor Tithe.ly started as a church management platform, but both now offer ChMS features. The difference is that Tithe.ly acquired Breeze, one of the most popular standalone ChMS tools, and integrated it fully.
Tithe.ly ChMS (Formerly Breeze)
- People database with custom fields, family grouping, and flexible tagging
- Volunteer coordination with scheduling and team management
- Event management with check-ins and name tag printing
- Groups for small groups, ministry teams, and volunteer crews
- Email and text messaging with a drag-and-drop editor
- Attendance tracking with security code matching for children’s check-in
- Giving integration that ties donations directly to member profiles
Breeze was already known for simplicity and ease of use. That DNA carries over. Church admins can get comfortable in a day. The tag-based system is flexible and covers most member management needs without the overhead of complex workflows.
Subsplash ChMS
Subsplash’s church management module is newer and more basic. It covers the essentials: member databases, attendance tracking, child check-in, volunteer scheduling, and communication tools.
But it’s less mature than Tithe.ly’s ChMS, Planning Center, or even the legacy Breeze. Churches that need deep reporting, complex people management, or advanced automation will find Subsplash’s ChMS lightweight by comparison.
Winner: Tithe.ly. The Breeze acquisition gave them a proven, well-loved ChMS. Subsplash’s ChMS is still catching up.
Media, Streaming, and Content: Subsplash Dominates
If your church produces video content, podcasts, or sermon recordings, this is where Subsplash pulls far ahead.
Subsplash Media
Subsplash was built as a media platform first. Their infrastructure shows that maturity:
- Unlimited media storage for audio and video
- HD and 4K video hosting
- Live streaming with adaptive bitrate (adjusts quality based on viewer connection)
- Podcast distribution to Apple Podcasts, Spotify, and more
- Roku, Apple TV, and Fire TV apps for living room screens
- Sermon libraries with searchable, organized archives
And then there’s Pulpit AI. Upload a single sermon recording, and Pulpit AI generates over 20 pieces of content automatically: video clips with captions and face-tracking stabilization, blog posts, devotionals, small group discussion guides, newsletters, social media posts, and more. All fully editable before you publish.
For churches with small staff or volunteer-run media teams, Pulpit AI is a significant time-saver. What used to take hours of manual editing happens in minutes.
Tithe.ly Media
Tithe.ly supports sermon audio and video through its app, plus basic live streaming. But media hosting and delivery are not their core strength. There’s no equivalent to Subsplash’s dedicated media infrastructure, no TV apps, no AI-powered content creation, and no podcast distribution tools.
For churches that primarily need members to watch a live stream and access past sermons, Tithe.ly is adequate. For churches with a content strategy that goes beyond “upload the Sunday recording,” Subsplash is in a different league.
Winner: Subsplash. This is their strongest differentiator. Pulpit AI alone could justify the price difference for content-heavy churches.
Website Builder: Tithe.ly Has the Edge (But Neither Is Great)
Neither platform is going to replace a purpose-built website solution like WordPress or Squarespace. But if you want a simple church website bundled with your other tools, here’s how they compare.
Tithe.ly Website
Included in the All-Access plan or available standalone for $19/month. The drag-and-drop builder is functional, with church-specific templates, integrated giving, event pages, and sermon embedding. It’s not going to win design awards, but it gets the job done for churches that need a basic web presence without hiring a developer.
Subsplash Website (SnapPages)
Multiple users and independent reviewers consistently flag SnapPages as the weakest product in Subsplash’s lineup. The templates are church-specific, but customization is severely limited. Users report a steep learning curve for what should be a simple website builder.
Winner: Tithe.ly. Neither is exceptional, but Tithe.ly’s builder is more usable and better integrated into the overall platform.
Who Should Choose Subsplash
Subsplash is the right choice if:
- A premium mobile app is your top priority. Subsplash consistently delivers the most polished church app experience available.
- Your church produces a lot of media content. Video, podcasts, live streams, sermon recordings. Subsplash’s media infrastructure is purpose-built for this.
- You want AI-powered content creation. Pulpit AI turns one sermon into 20+ pieces of content. For small teams, this is transformational.
- You’re a mid-to-large US church. The budget for custom-quoted pricing is more accessible at scale.
- Streaming quality matters. Adaptive bitrate streaming, TV apps, and unlimited storage set Subsplash apart.
- You already have a ChMS you’re happy with. Subsplash’s ChMS is basic, but if you’re using Planning Center or another dedicated platform for people management, Subsplash complements it well for apps and media.
Who Should Choose Tithe.ly
Tithe.ly is the right choice if:
- Budget transparency matters. $119/month for everything. No sales calls, no surprises.
- You want an all-in-one platform at one price. Giving, ChMS, app, website, and worship tools in a single bill.
- Ease of setup is important. The giving platform takes 15 minutes. The ChMS takes a day. The app is auto-generated.
- You’re a small-to-medium church (50-500 members). The All-Access bundle delivers more value per dollar than any other platform at this size range.
- Church management is a core need. Tithe.ly’s ChMS (formerly Breeze) is more mature and full-featured than Subsplash’s.
- You’re a church plant. The free giving plan lets you start for $0 and upgrade as you grow.
- You need basic worship tools. They’re included in the All-Access plan, which saves you a separate subscription.
The Global Church Perspective: Neither Platform Delivers
Here’s the truth that most comparison articles won’t tell you: both Subsplash and Tithe.ly are built for North American churches. If your church operates outside the US, both platforms have significant gaps.
| Global Feature | Subsplash | Tithe.ly |
|---|---|---|
| WhatsApp integration | No | No |
| M-Pesa / Mobile Money | No | No |
| Multi-currency giving | No | No |
| USSD payments | No | No |
| International SMS | No | No |
| Offline mode | No | No |
| Regional pricing | No | No |
| Multilingual admin | No | No |
For churches in Nigeria, Kenya, Ghana, South Africa, Latin America, or the UK diaspora, both platforms share the same blind spots. Giving assumes US bank accounts and credit cards. Communication assumes email and SMS. Pricing assumes US budgets.
WhatsApp has a 98% open rate in most of the world outside North America. M-Pesa processes more transactions annually than PayPal. If your members communicate through WhatsApp and give through mobile money, neither Subsplash nor Tithe.ly can serve them where they are.
This isn’t a minor inconvenience. For the majority of the world’s churches, it’s a dealbreaker. Read our article on why US church software doesn’t work for African churches for the full picture.
Our Verdict
Both Subsplash and Tithe.ly are strong platforms that serve their target audiences well. The right choice comes down to what your church values most.
| If You Value… | Choose |
|---|---|
| Best custom church app | Subsplash |
| Media and streaming | Subsplash |
| AI content creation (Pulpit AI) | Subsplash |
| TV apps (Roku, Apple TV) | Subsplash |
| Transparent pricing | Tithe.ly |
| All-in-one bundle at $119/month | Tithe.ly |
| Church management (ChMS) | Tithe.ly |
| Website builder | Tithe.ly |
| Budget under $150/month | Tithe.ly |
| Ease of setup | Tithe.ly |
| Worship planning tools | Tithe.ly |
| Church plant (starting from zero) | Tithe.ly |
For most churches under 500 members, Tithe.ly is the better value. You get a complete platform at a price you can actually see before buying. The ChMS is more mature, the pricing is predictable, and the All-Access bundle covers all the essentials.
For media-focused churches with the budget, Subsplash is worth the premium. If your church produces weekly video content, runs a podcast, live streams every service, and wants a mobile app that members are genuinely proud to use, Subsplash delivers a level of quality that Tithe.ly doesn’t match in those areas.
For churches outside North America, neither platform was built for your context. The giving, communication, and pricing models in both platforms assume a US church. If your congregation uses WhatsApp, gives through mobile money, or needs software priced fairly for your local economy, you need a platform designed for the global church from the ground up.
Frequently Asked Questions
Can I use Subsplash giving with Tithe.ly’s ChMS?
There’s no direct integration between the two platforms. If you use both, you’d manage giving data in one system and member data in another. Some churches do this, but it means manual data reconciliation or using Zapier to bridge the gap. Picking one platform for both giving and management is simpler.
Which has better customer support?
Both offer responsive support. Tithe.ly provides live chat, email, and phone support. Subsplash provides email and phone support, with dedicated account managers for larger churches. Neither platform has a reputation for poor support.
Is Subsplash worth the higher price?
It depends on your priorities. If your church’s primary investment is in media, streaming, and mobile app quality, Subsplash’s premium delivers real value. If you need an all-in-one tool that covers giving, management, and an app at a predictable cost, Tithe.ly offers more per dollar. Run the numbers for your specific situation.
Which is better for a small church?
Tithe.ly. The transparent pricing, the free giving plan, the $119/month All-Access bundle, and the ease of setup make it a natural fit for churches under 300 members. Subsplash’s custom pricing and setup fees create a higher barrier to entry.
Which is better for a large or multi-campus church?
Both can serve larger churches, but they solve different problems. Subsplash’s app quality, media tools, and GrowCurve fee reductions scale well for large, media-producing churches. Tithe.ly’s ChMS and bundled approach work for multi-campus churches that want operational consolidation at a known price. For deep operational management at scale, consider Planning Center as well.
Does either platform support international churches?
Both can technically be used outside the US, but with limitations. Tithe.ly supports giving in a handful of countries (Australia, UK, Singapore, Japan, Hong Kong, New Zealand) via cards and bank transfers. Subsplash’s giving is primarily US-focused. Neither supports mobile money, WhatsApp, USSD, or multi-currency giving. For churches in Africa, Latin America, or the UK diaspora, the gaps are significant.
Can I switch from one to the other later?
Yes. Both support CSV exports for member data and giving history. The main friction points are rebuilding your app, re-importing your media library (if moving from Subsplash), and reconfiguring your ChMS settings. Plan for a 1-2 week transition period.
Which platform has better giving adoption rates?
Both report strong donor adoption. Subsplash emphasizes their app-driven giving experience and claims high engagement rates through their polished mobile interface. Tithe.ly highlights that their Cover the Fees feature saves churches significant money, with about 60% of donors opting in. Actual adoption depends more on how your church rolls out digital giving than on which platform you choose.